As Congress wraps up its lame-duck session, House and Senate Appropriators indicated that they would like to have all of the 9 outstanding FY09 Appropriations bills, including the $38.2 billion FY09 International Affairs Budget, completed soon after President-elect Obama takes the oath of office on January 20, 2009. This week, Appropriations Sub-committee Chairs were instructed to get their respective bills in order. All of the remaining bills are expected to be combined into an Omnibus bill. Congress is expected to move forward on the FY09 Appropriations bills shortly after being sworn in on January 6, 2009.

This week, Under Secretary of State for Management, Patrick F. Kennedy, in a briefing at the State Department, indicated that the outgoing Bush Administration would present robust International Affairs Budget recommendations for FY10 through FY14. While no specific dollar amounts were provided in the briefing, the Under Secretary did emphasize the importance of passing the $38.2 billion FY09 International Affairs Budget, which would fund an additional 1,100 positions at the State Department in an effort to address the growing calls for increased resources for State and USAID to implement U.S. foreign policy goals.